End of Unit Questions (Continued...)

·      -Is it possible to experience an emotion, a feeling, an attitude or sensibility that cannot be expressed in language? Can an emotion, such as love or grief, have its origins in, or be shaped by, language?

       I certainly believe that it is possible to experience a sensation that is inexpressible through language. For this same reason, we often hear people make statements such as "I don't know how to explain what I am feeling." That being said, I disagree with the latter part of the question, as I actually believe in quite the opposite. Whilst I do not think that emotion itself is shaped by language, I do on the other hand think that language can be shaped by emotion. It was emotion that came first and then methodologies to label these emotions followed suit. Thus, I feel like language was molded to adapt to communicating a certain emotion and not vice versa.

·      -Is the knowledge gained from emotional responses influenced by culture? Are concepts such as patriotism and racism examples of collective emotions? What does it mean to be responsible for our emotions? Can emotions be classified as ‘good’ or ‘bad’? Do emotional responses emanate from cultural influences?

       In my opinion, concepts like patriotism and racism are very much embedded in a societal mindset and are thus emotions heavily influenced by one's cultural background and upbringing in general. That being said, I also believe that an individual himself is responsible for the emotions they exhibit and the entire cause of how one feels cannot be attributed to a group/culture. For example, for the large part in my culture, inter-religion marriages are not necessarily appreciated, however, I still do not have a particular stance on this notion due to the fact that I have never been someone who blindly abides by societal norms. I do not think that emotions can broadly be classified into 'good' and 'bad' however what I do know is that displaying an extremity of any emotion is not healthy. Yes emotional responses do to a great extent emanate from cultural influences and the dynamic exposure an individual has encountered in life. For example, in most cultures the slaughtering of cows for beef is deemed acceptable however in my culture, a Cow is considered as a sacred animal and consequently the consumption of beef itself is not a part of my culture. Our cultures accordingly play a pivotal role in shaping who we are. 

·     -Does emotion reside in the realm of private knowledge in the sense that it cannot be verified by others? Is all private knowledge necessarily some form of emotion? Is physical pain or hunger an emotion? Can people be wrong about their own emotions? Do people have, in some sense, exclusive access to their emotions or can others lead them to recognize previously unknown emotions?

       I think that whether emotion resides in the realm of private knowledge or not is very much a personal choice. For many individuals, their internal emotions are not something they try to hide and these are easily identifiable in their reactions to certain things. On the other hand, for some people they like to keep their emotions to themselves and what is shown to the world externally is merely a facade masking what is hiding in the depths of their emotions. I do not agree with all private knowledge being a form of emotion as much as I believe that emotion can, by choice, be a part of private knowledge. I do not think physical pain and hunger are emotions as emotions are sentiments/feelings that are not really physically more perhaps more cognitively experienced. I think people can only be wrong about their emotions if they do not really know themselves and have not explored and established who they really are. I am convinced that other people can certainly lead an individual to experience unknown feelings. One does not know how jealousy, love, sympathy, empathy or even hate feels like before they encounter another individual who makes them acquainted with these unfamiliar emotions. 

·     -Is there any kind of knowledge which can be attained solely through emotion? Is the answer to the question dependent on factors such as gender, age, culture, and/or socioeconomic group?

       Knowledge in terms of social interaction between two individuals can certainly be attained through emotions, if they are explicitly expressed. However, besides that, I am unsure of any kind of knowledge that can be attained solely through emotion. The factors listed above definitely play a role in this notion as these outlines essentially paint a picture of generalized groups that have distinct characteristics and hence their perception of the world can influence the amount of knowledge that can be gained through emotion. 

·    -Is emotion an essential ingredient of scientific or artistic knowledge? Can there be creativity without emotion?

       While I do think that emotion is an essential ingredient in artistic knowledge, according to me, scientific knowledge has always been very distant or independent of emotion. Artistic knowledge in my view is very much linked to emotion, as it is one's internal emotive state that propels art. I do not thus think that creativity can exist without emotion as these elements are inextricably intertwined. Art is often called a form of expression, a medium for one to communicate how they feel and hence to think that creativity itself can exist without any emotion to stimulate it seems unreasonable. 

Language Questions (1 and 2)

Questions (1)

•What is human language?  Can it be defined?

         In my opinion, human language can be deemed as anything that allows a means of efficacious communication between two individuals. This means of communication could be in the form of gestures, verbal conversation or even facial expressions. Accordingly, I also believe that human language in itself is an amalgamation of several entwined elements that cannot be isolated from each other. 

•Do we think in language?  Why is that?

         Language is a medium that allows us to process our thoughts and thus I do think that we think in language. In terms of the specificity of the language that we gauge in to think, from my personal experience I can say, we often retreat to processing our internal thoughts in our mother tongues/native languages as this is the language that is intrinsic to our being. 

•Do speakers of different languages inhabit different worlds?

         I do not think that speakers of different language inhabit different worlds for the sole reason that despite that fact that we may have different phonetically sound to convey the meaning of certain things, we do in the entirety seek exposure to similar facets of the world. Thus, I personally feel like it is more the manner in which one is brought up or their cultural background that determines their perception of the world than the language they speak.  

•How does human language differs from animal communication?   Do speakers of different languages know different things?

         Animal communication, as per my perception, is based purely on sounds that capture another animal’s attention. Humans on the other hand have several elements that elevate the notion of communication and hence a grand distinction can be drawn between the forms of communication between the two species. Speaker of different languages often have come words that are untranslatable. These worlds can potentially indicate that speakers of different languages may perhaps engage in different facets of the world depending on the tangible vocabulary developed to express these variations. 

•Does our language limit what we can know?

        If an individual is only articulate in one language but desires to gain knowledge that is primarily grounded in another language, a language barrier may be encountered if the individual does not have parallel vocabulary to translate the words of the new language into. Hence, viewing it from this perspective, yes, in some cases an individual's language could potentially limit what they can know.

•To what degree might different languages shape in their speakers different concepts of themselves and the world? What are the implications of such differences for knowledge?

        To reiterate, different languages oft consist of untranslatable words/terminology that could potentially result in a language barrier between two individuals who speak a mediating middle language. Nevertheless, the differences in knowledge as a result of this dividing factor can lead to further complications in communicating messages but on the other hand can also lead to greater findings due to the fact that two individuals who have different elements of knowledge on one subject can unite to arrive at a grand conclusive finding together.

•Does the language we speak shape our cultural values, or does the influence go the other way, or both?

         As mentioned earlier, I am a strong believer in the fact that our cultural values are dominant in influencing elements of our personalities, including that of our language. Thus, the language we speak is only an extension of our culture and hence is greatly influenced by it. For example, two people who speak the same language may not perceive the world in the same way as this disparity is characterized by their cultural background and upbringing. 

•What is the role of language in sustaining relationships of authority?

          Language plays a critical role in sustaining the relationships of authority as a hierarchy is established whilst using language in different ways with different people. For instance, in certain languages like Hindi and Korean, language and conversational  vocabulary is segregated by levels of formalities that pertain to people and the person they are speaking to. Thus, in language as such, the language itself plays a pivotal role in defining and sustaining the relationships of authority.

Questions (2)

•To what extend does language shape our thinking?

           I believe that language does not play a big role in shaping how we think as it is our culture that essentially is dominant in moulding our though process and ideology. Language simply mediates our thoughts and allows us to communicate them effectively. Although, considering an alternative perspective as by which language allows conversation with those around us and therefore allows us to consider and absorb new perspectives, the importance of language can be argues to influence our thinking.

•Do people think differently in different languages?

          I do not think that speakers of different language inhabit different worlds for the sole reason that despite that fact that we may have different phonetically sound to convey the meaning of certain things, we do in the entirety seek exposure to similar facets of the world. Thus, I personally feel like it is more the manner in which one is brought up or their cultural background that determines their perception of the world than the language they speak.  

•If you do not have words for certain situation, does it mean you do not have thoughts for them?

        I think that it is possible to conjure thoughts about something without having the exact words to express the thought. For instance, if speaking about a certain emotion, it is possible for one to feel a certain way without having an exact label to identify it by. Thus, these sentiments/ thoughts that cannot be communicated through words are often perplexing as there is no way one knows how to communicate the exact situation due to the absence of corresponding relevant words